Post-office lock-box



M4; JACKSON. EOST OFFICE LOGK BOX'.

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(No Model.)

Patented Apr. 7, 1891.

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(No Model.)

M. JACKSON.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MILTON JACKSON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

POST-OFFICE LOCK-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 449,936, dated April 7, 1891.

Application tiled J'uly 19,1888. Serial No. 280,418. (No model.)

.To a/ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, MILTON JACKSON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Post-Office Lock- Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the doors and doorframes of post-office lock-boxes, the general object of my improvements being to simplify and cheapen the structure without any sacritice of security or efficiency, and a further object being to increase the area of the transparent panel of the door.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a part of the pigeonhole frame of apost-oftice lock-box structure with metal doors and door-frames constructed in accordance with my invention, the lower frames being detached in order to more clearly illustrate them. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line l 2, Fig. l; Fig. 3, the same with the door open and one set of hinge-lugs in section; Fig. 4, a sectional plan View, on a larger scale, on the line 3 4, Fig. l.v Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the glass panel of the door, and Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9 views illustrating modifications of certain features of the invention.

A represents part of the wooden pigeonhole frame of a post-office lock-box structure, to the front of which are secured the metal frames B for the doors D, the latter being also of metal, but having glass panels so as to permit the contents of the box or pigeon-hole to be inspected from the outside.

Each door-frame consists of upper andlower bars ci a and opposite side bars b b', the bars d a of adjoining frames covering the front faces of the horizontal strips of the pigeonhole frame and the bars b covering the front faces of the vertical strips of said frame.

The bar b of each door-frame is a narrow strip fitting within the pigeon-hole and offset from the top and bottom bars a a', so that it can be overlapped by the bar b of the adjacent frame, said bar having at the top and bottom notches cl for the reception of the ends of the top and bottom bars ci ci of the frame, which it overlaps.

Each frame B is secured to the pigeon-hole structure by two Screws ff, passing through openings in the bar b', and as the opposite bar b is retained, as above set forth, by the bar b of the adjacent frame these two screws are all that is necessary to secure each doorframe to the pigeon-hole frame, eXceptin the case of the end frames of the structure, the plates b of which are secured to the end strips of the pigeon-hole trame by transverse screws f', and are provided with flanges Z22 for covering the front face of said end strip.

When it is not desired to offset the side bar b of the door-frame, the bar b of the frame may, as shown in Fig. 6, have an offset for receiving the bar b of the adjoining frame, which is flush with the top and bottom bars.

The barb of each door-frame has projecting lugs g g for the reception of hinge-pins c',

whereby lugs h on the door'l) are hung to said lugs gg, and the door thus hinged to the door-frame.

The openings for the screws f, whereby the door-frames are secured to the pigeon-hole frame, are located between the hinge-lugs g g', so that when the door is applied the lugs h of the same cover the heads ot' the screws and effectually prevent any access to the latter for the purpose of removing the doorframe. When there is but one hinge-lug g on the door-frame for each lug h on the door, the screw-opening willbe above or below said lug g', according as the lug h is above or below the same. This mode of securing the metallic door-frame to the pigeon-hole frame is much simpler and quite as secure as the plan which has been resorted t0 of forming inwardly-projecting lugs or flanges on each side bar of the door-frame and securing these lugs or anges to the vertical strips of the pigeon-hole frame by rivets passing laterally through said strips and flanges. This old method of construction necessitated special adaptation of the Wood-work to the doorframe and entailed such niceties of construction and erection that the work was done by skilled mechanics at the factory or place of production, whereas in myl case the construction of the wood-work and the proper securing of the door-frames and hanging of the doors do not demand any especial skill and can besatisfactorily performed by local mechanics at the place Where the structure is to be used.

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the lug h on the door and partly through the One of the main features of this part of my invention is the securing of the door-frames or metallic front to the Wooden pigeon-hole frame A by screws or other fastenings passing into the front of said frame and protected by the doors when the latter are hung. The proper carrying out of this idea does not necessarily includev the overlapping of one frame by the other. For instance, the doorframes may meet each other edge to edge over the entire front of the frame A, the bars b of the frames being secured, as before described, but the top bar of one frame and bottom bar of the adjacent frame being retained bythe head of a screw f2 or other fastening, which overlaps both bars, as shown in Fig. 7, and,if desired,the front bar b of each door-frame may have a projection fitting beneath or into a recess in the bar b of the adjoining frame and secured by a screw or other fastening, as also shown in said figure, but in all cases the heads of the screws or other fastenings should be so overlapped by the doors or some parts of the doors, when the latter are hung, that access cannot be had to said fastenings for the purpose of removing the same. The opening for each hinge-pin t' passes through the upper hinge-luggthrough lower hinge-lug g', as shown in Fig. 3, Whereby When the hinge-pin has been inserted it cannot be driven out by an instrument applied to one end of it, as it could if it passed completely through both lugs g g. When the door-frame has single hinge-lugs, the pin is passed through an opening in the hingelug h on the door and driven into the opening, passing part Way through the lug g on the door-frame, as shown in Fig. 9, the binding of the pin in the latter opening holding it in place.

The door has on the inside a bolt-casing G with spring-bolt H, the latter engaging with an opening m in the bar b of the door-frame, and being under control of lockmechanism carried by a casing I, the operating-arm lo of the lock acting on the bolt through the medium of a lever J, so that said bolt will be withdrawn by a right-hand movement of the ke 'lille door has a glass panel M, as usual; but in order to expose as much as possible of the interior of the box and offer but little obstruction to the passage of light, this panel, besides occupying the entire lower portion of the door, extends throughout a portion of the door almost to the upper edge of the same, the lock and bolt casing being contracted in area in order to permit this extension and being located in one of the upper corners of the door-frame; or, if desired, the lock-casing Amay be in one of the lower corners, the panel leather, or like material, so as to provide an elastic seat for the panel and prevent the breaking of the same by the slamming of the door. The panel is retained by means of overlapping claw-plates w at the corners, these plates being detachably secured to the frame by screws w and being preferably elastic, or, if desired, an elastic medium similar to the packing a; may be interposed between the panel and the claw-plates, the purpose being to prevent such a rigid confinement of the panel as Would tend to cause breakage on slamming the door. The body y of the panel is so thick that the face of the panel projects somewhat beyond the face of the door, so as to permit the readycleaning of the same. Such panels have been made with beveled edges adapted to and seated in bevel-edged openings in the door; but slight variations in the size of the panel or opening in such case prevents the proper seating of the iiange n on the shoulder of the door, and, moreover, the

beveled portions practically reduce the area of the panel through which the contents of the box can be vieWedor through which light can directly pass, Whereas it is desirable to have this area as large as possible. I therefore make the edges of the bod)Y y of the panel at right angles, or thereabout, to the face of the flange n, so that the said body can project through the opening in the door Without having any bearing upon the edges of said opening, the proper seating of the flange n being thus insured and the full area of the opening rendered available for the passage of light or the inspection of the contents of the box.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. The combination of the pigeon-hole frame of a post-office lock-box structure With doorframes secured thereto by fastenings passing into the front of said pigeon-hole frame and overlapped by the doors, all substantially as specified.

2. The combination of the pigeon-hole frame of' a post-office lock-box structure With doorframes secured to the front of said pigeonhole frame, the side bar of one door-frame overlapping the adjoining side bar of the next door-frame, all substantially as specified.

3. The Within-described door-frame for the I pigeon-hole structure of a post-office lock-box, said frame consisting of top, bottom, and side IOC IIO

bars, one of said side bars being offset for v adaptation to the side bar of an adjoining door-frame, all substantially as speciiied.

Il. The combination of the door-frame having top, bottom, and side bars, one of the latter being offset, with an adjacent door-frame having a side-bar overlapping said offset-bar and having notches for receiving the ends of the top and bottom bars, all substantially as specified.

5. Thecombinationof thepigeon-hole frame, doors having hinge-lugs, and door-frames having hinge-lugs and openings for the reception of fastenings, said fastenings being so located v- Aopening therein with the panel adapted to in respect to the hinge-lugs that when the door is hung the heads of the fastenings will be inaccessible, all substantially as specified.

6. The combination of the door having an opening therein, a panel adapted to said opening, and the detachable claw-plates confining the panel at the corners of the same and having an elastic bearing on said panel, all substantially as specied.

7. The combination of the door having an but not seated in saidopening and having a projecting flange seatedaround vthe edge of the opening on the inner side of the door, all substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of I two subscribing witnesses.

MILTON JACKSON.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM D. CONNER, HARRY SMITH. 

